Historic Rulings on Abortion, Transgender Rights

In March 2012, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that rape victims can get an abortion. The ruling was historic because most abortions are illegal in Argentina. Before the ruling, a judge had to decide, case by case, which victims could get abortions. Typically, a judge ruled for the abortion only if the woman had mental disabilities. The new rule allowed any victim of rape to receive an abortion without a court order.

Two months later, the Senate unanimously passed a law allowing people to alter their gender on official documents without psychiatric diagnosis or surgery. Public and private medical practitioners are now required to give free hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery to all transgenders who desire it, including anyone under the age of 18. The new law has gone well beyond measures passed over the last ten years in Britain and Spain. Those two countries passed laws allowing people to change their gender and name after receiving a psychiatric diagnosis of gender dysphoria. In 2010, Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize gay marriage. The May 2012 gender identity law has also made Argentina a world leader in transgender rights.